Asst. tennis coach arrested
Tech’s assistant men’s tennis coach Conor Pollock was arrested Saturday, March 24 on charges of the rape of a 23-year old women as well as possession of cocaine and marijuana.
Tech released a statement saying, “We are aware of the charges involving assistant men’s tennis coach Conor Pollock. He has been placed on administrative leave with pay, effective immediately, pending the outcome of the external investigation. We will address his continued employment at Georgia Tech when the necessary additional information becomes available.”
The coach was arrested after a woman reported to the Atlanta police around 6:30 am Saturday that Pollock had raped her. A police report stated, “The victim advised police that she remembers being at the apartment and then waking up to the suspect raping her.”
Pollock’s attorney, J. Tom Morgan told The Atlanta Journal Constitution, “He is absolutely not guilty. That’s not defense lawyer [talk]. This kid is absolutely not guilty.”
Morgan acknowledged that the two met at the bar and returned to Pollock’s Buckhead apartment, but said that Pollock did not rape the woman.
NCAA Appeal Denied
The NCAA denied Georgia Tech’s appeal of a decision made by the Division I Committee on Infractions in July 2011. Last fall, on Sept. 9, 2011, seeking a reduction in the penalties assessed to its athletic program by the NCAA in mid-July for major violations committed by its football team. Tech submitted a written appeal to the NCAA.
Tech appealed two of the four primary findings listed in the NCAA’s infractions report on the case, expressed an objection to multiple indications by the NCAA Committee on Infractions that Tech officials attempted to obstruct the investigation and requested the reinstatement of the football team’s victory in the 2009 ACC Championship Game.
The findings that Tech chose to challenge stemmed from an incident involving impermissible benefits provided to two former Tech football players, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and safety Morgan Burnett.
Thomas accepted clothing and other items valued at $312 from either his cousin or a friend of his cousin; the confusion over this detail was a major point of contention between Tech and the NCAA and factored into the NCAA’s ultimate conclusions. Burnett was investigated for a similar incident, but the NCAA found that Tech had tampered with the investigation by notifying him about a pending interview with an NCAA official.
“We are disappointed with the ruling of the NCAA appeals committee, but respect the process and the NCAA’s decision,” said Institute President G.P. “Bud” Peterson. “We felt we owed it to the Georgia Tech community and to our student athletes to exercise the appeals process provided by the NCAA in order to defend the integrity of Georgia Tech and to reaffirm our commitment to the principles and obligations of the NCAA.”